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Oklahoma State football: BCS game remains a possibility for Cowboys

Bedlam game vs. OU will play a huge role if OSU will make the BCS cut

By Gina Mizell •
Published: November 19, 2012

OSU / CELEBRATION: Oklahoma State celebrates a touchdown on a blocked punt during a college football game between Oklahoma State University and the Texas Tech University (TTU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

For OSU, this we know for sure — a Bedlam win would keep the Cowboys' BCS hopes alive. But if OSU loses to the Sooners, it has virtually no chance of finishing in the top 14 of the final BCS rankings, a requirement to be selected as an at-large team.

If the Cowboys split their final two games, a trip to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio or the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Tempe, Ariz. are the most likely destinations. In fact, every major bowl projection currently pegs OSU for one of those two bowls.

Should the Cowboys lose their final two games, they could slip to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego or the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston.

Some OSU players, like Smith, are totally oblivious to bowl scenarios. But wide receiver Isaiah Anderson acknowledged that his friends and family have talked to him about several postseason possibilities, including returning to a BCS game.

And with madness ensuing across the college football landscape the last two weeks — with Alabama, Oregon and K-State all losing — why shouldn't the Cowboys dream big?

Because Gundy knows what can happen if players and coaches prematurely get caught up in those scenarios. The Cowboys learned a hard lesson last season when they lost to Iowa State in Game 11.

And Gundy acknowledged he's had to remind his team of that as it heads into its final two regular-season games, starting with Bedlam.

“I think everybody's aware of the situations,” Gundy said. “But I go back to what I always say, and I really mean it — we're certainly not good enough to think past Oklahoma and (Tuesday's) practice.”